Matich SR4
The Matich SR4 was produced with designer-frabricator Henry Nehrybecki for 1969. utilising a quad cam Repco 740 V8. Matich dominated the inaugural Australian Sports Car Championship in that year, winning all three heats with the SR4. The SR4 had 19 starts, 19 pole positions, 15 wins, 8 lap records and only one defeat. It was a car that was faster than the Formula One cars of the era, driven by one of Australia’s best ever drivers. The SR4 was built in Sydney by Henry Nehrybecki for Frank Matich to take to the 1968 CanAm series, it raced only in Australia, unlike its equally famous sister car, SR3. It totally dominated the class and lead to coining of the phrase “doing a Matich” (i.e. to take pole, to win, take the fastest lap and also the lap record). The frame is made from tubular steel and weighs only 81 pounds (35 kg), it is extremely light considering the power of the engine. The engine was a quad cam Repco 740 V8 which produced 550 hp. The gearbox is a Hewland LG500 with 4 forward gears and reverse. The gearbox is the only major item not made in Australia since the uprights, wheels, brakes and even the steering rack were all locally produced. The body is made from fibreglass though the original intention was for this to be of aluminium. The SR4 was retired from racing at the end 1969 since there was little else to be achieved for it in Australia. Also a year had slipped by making a later foray into CanAm series futile. In any case Frank Matich had his eyes on the emerging F5000 series. The car was cosmetically restored by Don Halpin while still owned by Repco during the eighties and was for many years displayed at the Birdwood and then the Launceston auto museums. It was never possible to undertake a full and running restoration since the engine in it was very much incomplete. Acquisition of a complete and running engine from Les Wright some years ago made the full restoration feasible and this was carried out by Jim Hardman. The engine in the car is actually an ex Jack Brabham Indy engine of 4.2 litres, though of the same external appearance as the 5 litre version originally fitted. Naturally this has been set up to operate on petrol as opposed to methanol as per Indy. A 5 litre engine is now in preparation. Nigel Tait, managed the restoration and movements of the SR4 over the last years of Repco’s ownership and subsequently during ACL’s ownership, and purchased it from ACL in July 2005. In 2006 a full chassis restoration was undertaken since it was 38 years since it was constructed. It is a testament to Henry Nehrybecki’s workmanship that it was found to be in excellent condition with only minor repairs needed and only one tube required replacement to upgrade the seat belt mountings to modern standards. Jim Hardman undertook most of this work including making new aluminium skins and undertray and reassembly. The car has been taken to a number of circuits for display and demonstration and has been driven by John Bowe and Brian Sampson and as well as by Nigel Tait and Jim Hardman at various events. Due to its historical importance and the scarcity of critical engine components for the quad cam engine (which may well be the only one still running) there are no plans for the car to revert to all out racing. Category:Matich Category:Post-war Category:Racecars